Wheeled toy vehicle



June 11, I946; N. KINGSON v 2,401,937

WHEELED TOY VEHICLE I Filed Feb. 22, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,INVENTOR NEDRA m/vaso/v 7 BY 2 W 3% MM 1;, EM

ATTORNEYS June 11, 1946. N, KlNGSON 2,401,937

WHEELED TOY VEHICLE INVENTOR' NED/FA ff/NGJO/V BY YMQDM MW 1, EM

ATTORNEYS Patented June 11, 1946 o N1 ran STATES I ore-Pics WHEELED TOY "VEHICLE Nedra "King son, Mount .VernonaN. Y.

Application February 22, 1944,.lSerial No..523,'441

:10'Claims. (01446-204) This invention relates to improvements in a childs toy, more particularly to a novel, direction-reversible toy vehicle having in combination therewith aninterest-maintaining "feature which -comprisesa-scene-viewing opening or openings in the body thereof'through which, upon operation of-the vehicle, aseries of pictures or figures-may -be-viewed.

Y The main object of the'inventionis-to provide an inexpensive, durable,- attractive toy vehicle which may be easily operated in either direction by even a-very -sm all child.

Another-advantage isthe provision'of atoy vehiclewhich, aftercontinued-use, will'still command-the'--attention of the-child byvirtue of the continuously changing scenefeature incorporated therein.

A further advantage resides in'the simplicity of constructionof the vehicle whereby the scenechanging feature thereof is adapted'to be actuated upon movement of the vehicle, directly from :itstraction wheels-without intermediate energy translating means such asgearing, beltingor the like.

In the-drawings: --'Fig. 1 is a'perspective viewof a preferredembodimentof the invention;

operating mechanism;

Figs. 5, 5a and-5b are sectional-end views of alternative embodiments'of the invention illustrating the arrangement .of portions of their operating mechanisms, and

Fig. 6 is a detail ofan alternative-arrangement of a :portion of the I driving mechanisms shown inFigs.v 5 through 52) inclusive.

.Referring now in detail .to the drawings, I is 'a closed vehicle body-of pressed metal, or other :suitable material, having .aportion z of its top cutaway.

A pair of vtubular rails 3, having their bent ends securely vfastened. to the topofthe vehicle, run lengthwise thereabove near the side edges thereof and are each provided with; asliding ring 4 to which theendsof a pull-string 5 are fastened .for use when the vehicle isto-be manually operated. When itis desired to reverse the direction of'the vehicle, .the child will pullthe drawstring in the opposite direction, sliding the rings 4- the opposite ends'ofrails'ii.

"respectively, are'rotatably mounted inside the vehicle body I adjacentthe wheels otthe vehicle and the body opening "2, upon axles 8 andffl' journaled through the vehicle'body I ,with their axes :of rotation 1 in the same "horizontal 'plan'e'as that of body opening or penings'Z.

Aband or stripj9, f'having its opposite ends iajste'ned to reelsfijand'fi andbeing'wound thereupon, is providedv with a series of pictures or figures disposed therealong, "adapted tobe viewed through body opening? Two pairs'ofitracfltioniwheels Ill, I0 provided withrims I 2, I2' are also rotatably mounted 'inside, said vehicle 7 body,';adjacent the fianges "I, '1 o'fjtheaforesaidreels 6,15, byjmean's'of aXles"II, I'I journ'aled "through "vehicle body I and supported in'sl'ots I3, *I 3 'Qpun ched, or otherwise provided therein.

Letus now assume the vehiclefdiscl'osed iniFi'gs. l to 14 inclusiveyis 'aboutftofbe 'operatedinthe direction indicated by the arrow under Fig. 3.

Movement "of the vehicle, in the directionv indicated: in Fig: 3;causes axle I' I to be moved backward to the'larger ends; of slots 13 thereby disengaging the rolling 'frictionalcontact,which'theretofore -existed between the rolling .surfaces of 'wheel' rims {1'2 and ,the adjacent surfaces 'of reel flanges "I. C'ontemporaneously, axle I' I is caused 'to be moved "backward fto the smaller ends "Of slots I'3 -so that the rolling surfaces of wheel rims I2 are brought .into direct rolling, frictional contact with thet adja'cent surfaces of reel flanges 1.

:Continued movement of the, vehicle will cause 're'elfi to be'rotatedinjthe direction' indicated and the elongated lb and orstrip 9 to be (unwound therefrom and to be drawn 'past the'viewingopen- 'ing or window 2, in a direction oppositejto' that of the travel ;of the vehicle, and to be wound upon iree1":6"by virtue ofjtherollingjfriction existing between "the contacting :surfaces of rims I2 and reel flanges 1'.

"lfhe stripor bandt maybe of any suitable material such asjpaper,starche iflinen or the like 1 and offsu'ch length as may be ,conveniently wound .unont re l fi The reel "flanges I 'I' and" wheel rims I 2, I2 maybe .of any suitable material which when he r. fiqnt t fi urface e br u ht. mic-ro n engagement will provide substantial friction therebetween. e

, It isitd'be understood that, instead of .using'an elongated bandas hereinbefore'described, aband of the continuous beltyariety maybe substituted therefor without d epartingfrom the spirit'of the -invention. 'The devices 'ofiFigsJ 5 through 5b, in-

clusive are designed for use with such bands.

When a continuous belt band is employed it may be arranged over the reels 6 in any well known manner.

In the embodiments of the invention shown in Figs. 5, 5a and 5b, the viewing openings 2, instead of being arranged in the top of the vehicle, are located in the sides thereof and reels 6 are rotatably mounted inside the vehicle body with their axes of rotation in-a'vertical'plane corresponding to that of the openings 2. In these embodiments, the driving power for the reels 6 is proit is unnecessary to employ the type of body slots heretofore described; it is sufficient to journal the axles I! through the vehicle body in the usual manner, such as at points I4. With this arrangement, the direction of picture band movement will, of course, be the same as that of the vehicle. However, the more normal, and perhaps more desirable arrangement from the standpoint of relative movement, would be to have the picture band move'in opposite direction to that of the vehicle, in which case the body slots heretofore described are to be employed.

In Fig. 5, two separate independently operated pairs of reels Band 6' (only one of each pair is shown) are mounted within the vehicle body adjacent either side wall thereof at such locations that continuous bands 9 and 9" carried thereby may be drawn past and the pictures or figures thereon viewed through openings or windows 2'. and 2".

The device disclosed in Fig. 5a is similar in operation to that shown inFig. 5, except that only one pair of reels is employed to carry a single picture band 9 past an opening or window 2.

In the device of Fig. 5a, a pair of axles l I (only one is shown) are so mounted within the vehicle body, at either end thereof, that only one wheel of either the front or back pair of wheels can be brought into operative, frictional, rolling contact with lower flanges l of either the'front'or rear reels 6 to effect rotation thereof, upon movement of the vehicle.

The device shown in Fig. 5b is similar to that shown in Fig. 5a, except that each of a single pair of reels (one is shown) is divided to accommodate a pair of continuous strips 9', 9", one of which is adapted to be viewed through an opening 2'. in the upper portion of one side of thevehicle body while the other may be viewed through a similar opening 2"in the lower portion of the other side of the vehicle body. The device shown in Fig. 5b

is otherwise identical in operation with the ('13-,

vice shown in Fig. 5a.

Figure 6 is a detail of an'arrangement wherein a portion of the outer, contacting edge of flanges 1, when utilized in devices of the types disclosed in Figs. 5 through 5b, is recessed to accommodate the contours of a driving wheel arcuate in cross-section.

As heretofore indicated, this invention is not intended to be limited to a manually operated toy vehicle as herein described and illustrated, but it may be advantageously embodied in other mechanically or electrically operated toy vehicles such as toy trains or the like.

It is also to be noted that as an alternative to rim which is the embodiment disclosed in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive,

the reels 6,6 may be made unitary with the 7B vehicle wheels if the latter are of sufflcient diameter, i. e., the wheels may be used in lieu of and comprise the flanges of the reels, thereby dispensing with the rolling friction drive arrangement. In all other respects the operation of the vehicle would be the same as heretofore described.

I claim:

1. A wheeled toy vehicle adapted to be operated re "b sk d. c m i mgl having at least one viewing apert'ure therein, axle f closed body support means arranged at each end of said body, front and rear wheels carried by said axle supports, at least one flanged reel mounted within each end of said body, adjacent said front and rear wheels, means including said axle supports forcausing at least one wheel and reel at one end of said body to be brought into frictional ,drivingengagament and for causing at least one wheel and reel at the other end of the body to be disengaged, depending on the direction of vehicle movement, and a band carried by saidreels, whereby operation'of said vehicle causes movement of said band past a viewing aperture.

2. A wheeled toy vehicle adapted to be operated forward or backward comprising a closed b ody having a viewing aperture in the top thereof, axle support means arranged at each end of said body, front and rearwheels carried by said axle supports, a flanged reel. mounted within each end of said body, adjacent said front and rear wheels, means including said axle supports for-causing the wheels and reel at one end of said body to be brought into frictional driving engagement and for causing the wheels and reel at the other end of the body to bedisengaged, depending'on the direction of vehicle movement, and a band of substantial length carried by said reels, whereby operation of said vehicle causes movement of said band past the viewing aperture.

3. A wheeled toy vehicle adapted to operate forward or backward comprising a body, axles at each end of the body, front and rear wheels carried by said axles, respectively, at least two reels mounted on said body, a band carried by said reels, means including said axles for causing at least one reel to be placed in drivingconnection with one wheel and for causing the other reel to be disconnected from driving connection with another wheel, depending on the direction of vehicle movement. I I

4. A wheeled toy vehicle adapted to operate forward or backward comprising a body, axles at each end of the body, frontand rearwheels carried by said axles, respectively, a'movable display mechanism mounted on said body,;first and second driving means for said display mechanism, means for causing said first driving means to be operatively connected to the display mechanism and the seconddriving means'disconnected from the display mechanism when the vehicle is moved forward, and the second driving means operatively connected to the display mechanism and the firsttdriving means disconnected from the displaymechanism when the vehicle is moved backward. 7 I

5. A Wheeled toy vehicle adapted tofoperate forward and backward comprising a body, at least two reels mounted on said body, a band carried by said reels, wheel means for supporting the body means for causing said wheel means to be operatively connected to one of said reels ing said wheel means to be disconnected from said reel when the vehicle is moving in the other of its said directions.

6. A wheeled toy vehicle adapted to operate forward and backward comprising a body, a movable display mechanism including at least one reel, wheel means for supporting the body, means for causing said wheel means to be operatively connected to said reel to cause rotation thereof when the vehicle is moving in one of said directions and for causing said wheel means to be disconnected from said reel when the vehicle is moving in the other of its directions.

'7. A wheeled toy vehicle adapted to operate forward or backward comprising a body, axles supported by said body at each end thereof, front and rear pairs of wheels carried by said axles, respectively, a reel mounted on said body at each end thereof, a band carried by said reels, said axles being mounted in slots for movement longitudinally of the body, the slots being so positioned relative to said reels that on movement of the vehicle in one of its directions the axle for one of the said pairs of wheels moves to a position in the slots in which it is mounted so that at least one of the wheels carried thereby is brought into frictional driving engagement with one of said reels, while the other axle moves to a position I in the Slots in which it is mounted so that the wheels carried thereby are out of frictional driving engagement with the other of said reels.

8. A wheeled toy vehicle adapted to operate forward or backward comprising a body, axles at each end of said body, front and rear wheels carried by said axles, respectively, two reels mounted on said body, a band carried by said reels, said reels being operatively connected to at least one of said front and rear wheels, respectively, said axles being so mounted for movement logitudinally of the body that when the vehicle is moved in either direction an operative connection is established between one reel and a wheel carried by one axle while the operative connection between the other reel and the wheels carried by the other axle is interrupted.

9. A wheeled toy vehicle adapted to operate forward or backward comprising a body, axles at each end of said body, front and rear wheels carried by said axles, said axles being movable relative to the body and longitudinally thereof, a movable display mechanism mounted on said body, first and second driving means for driving said display mechanism in opposite directions, said first and second driving means being operative or inoperative according to the position of said axles relative to the body, and means for causing one of said driving means to be operative to drive said display mechanism and the other driving means to be inoperative, depending on the direction of movement of the vehicle.

10. A wheeled toy vehicle adapted to operate forward or backward comprising a body, a display mechanism movable in opposite directions and including at least one reel, at least one axle carried by the body, Wheel means mounted on said axle for supporting the body, said axle being mounted for free movement relative to the body and longitudinally thereof, so that it assumes one position relative to the body when the vehicle is moving in one of its directions and another position relative to the body when the vehicle is moving in the other of its directions, mean for causing said wheel means to be operatively connected to said reel to cause rotation thereof when the axle is in one position relative to the body and for causing said wheel means to be disconnected from said reel when the axle is in another position relative to the body.

NEDRA KINGSON. 

